Out of time

And you've been so busy lately
that you haven't found the time
To open up your mind
And watch the world spinning gently out of time

Tell me I'm not dreaming but are we out of time?

( Blur – Out of Time)

It looks like airplanes are build in such a way to let you forget that you are flying really really high in the air, taking you to another part of the world. Small windows, meals served almost every 2 hours and a wide range of media entertainment. They didn’t have to that for me. I was so tired once I got in the airplane that I dozed off during my first (and also last) movie The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy and stayed that way during the rest of the trip.
Before I knew it the so familiar landscape of green grass with some cows was replaced by grey and brownish buildings tumbling over each other and flashing lights urging people to buy cigarettes or alcohol. Those were my first glimpses of Kyoto from the train window. And everything seemed vaguely familiar. I know’ve seen this kind of scenery’s before or something which looked like it, but it’s strange to see them again. But there's no doubt about it, I’m back in Japan again. But before having the opportunity to see more of Kyoto I had to experience another aspect of Japanese culture, seemingly endless bureaucratic procedures. I survived them all and finally got the opportunity to breath in the bursting air of Kyoto.
It was overwhelming, the smell of all kinds of delicious Japanese food, the irritating noise of the traffic lights and the huge numbers of people on foot, bicycles and cars. There are vending machines on every street corner, and all the shops, selling all kinds of good, have ads to urge you to buy their ware. My head was spinning and that combined with my jetlag kicking in, made it seem like everything was there just the way it should be, but I was kind of out of place and out of time. But luckily enough, there are places full of quietness that bring you back to yourself. Kyoto is extremely rich of temples, which are all worlds on their own.
I went to the Imperial Palace of Kyoto to enjoy the garden and the beautiful buildings. While you can only see those if you go on a group tour, I signed up for the Japanese spoken tour. While being kind of late I joined the group later. I recognized a vaguely familiar figure, watching this persons back. Taking a better look proves that I’m not mistaken…
It really is Miss de Poorter, my former teacher of Japanese.
So perhaps the world is also a little bit out of time……